GUN WORLD article on "The Falcon 10mm"
Originally printed in GUN WORLD, Volume XXXI, Number 11, July 1991.
Author: Eric Kincel
Article Title: "The Falcon 10mm: From The Bren Ten's Ashes Rises A New Auto"
Remember the Bren Ten? Who doesn't? With its demise six years ago, the
shooting public wondered if there would ever be another pistol like it
again. Now the hew Flacon is here and it offers all the Bren Ten did -
and more.
The Bren Ten started its dramatic but short life with the potential to
be the world's best combat automatic pistol. Originally, the pistol
was developed around a cartridge, the 10mm Auto.
The 10mm Auto cartridge, developed in the early Eighties, actually was
an old concept. The Italians worked with the 10mm bullet for use in
their service revolver in 1874. The actual size of their bullet was
10.4mm and 10.35mm. At the turn of the century, Hugh Gabbet-Fairfax
in England produced the Mars automatic pistol, which featured a
high-powered 10mm bullet. Later, John Browning even worked with a 9.8mm
auto and a 9.65mm cartridge. Browning converted some of his own autos
to shoot these creative rounds. A prototype Hi Power was one and the
other, the Colt Model 1910 auto.
Within the last twenty years, .40 Caliber test rounds have been under
constant development. In the early Seventies, Whit Collins designed
and developed a cartridge called the .40 G&A. It is a straight-cased
cartridge with a length of .886-inch maximum. The .40 G&A is similar
to the .40 S&W, which has a maximum case length of .850-inch. The .40
S&W has proven to be a popular round for law enforcement.
In the early Eighties, Tom Dornaus and Michael Dixon began developing
a .40 caliber cartridge which would achieve high velocity and maximum
stopping power. They created the 10mm Auto with a maximum case length
of .992-inch. The next step was to build a pistol that would shoot
this round. The Bren Ten was born.
The Bren Ten actually eveloved from a number of famous pistols,
including the CZ-75 and the Browning Hi power. Dornaus and Dixon added
a few of their own designs which now are patented. A number of these
features revolutionized the firearm's industry. Stainless steel was
used for the frame and a number of small parts. The slide was carbon
steel. Some internal parts were carbon and tool steel. This mixture
made the Bren Ten a two-tone pistol, blued and stainless.
The Bren Ten also featured a double and single action trigger pull
that made a lot of shooters happy. The pistol had two safeties, a
frame-mounted safety and a "through-bolt" system which incorporated a
safety switch on the rear of the slide. This system acted as a firing
pin block.
The Bren Ten originally came in two calibers, .45ACP and the
impressive 10mm Auto. Both calibers fed and functioned flawlessly, as
long as the proper magazine was used. Conversion kits were also
available.
In 1986, the Bren Ten production ws ended. Financial difficulties
closed the doors of the short-lived company. Just under fifteen
hundred Bren Tens had been built. With the exit of the pistol, the
10mm Auto cartridge was also thought doomed. Norma Ammunition Compnay,
a Swedish corporation, had gone into full production of the 10mm Auto
ammuntion. Now, there was a large amount of ammunition - and no firearm
to shoot it.
Shortly after the Bren Ten's demise, Colt - with the help of Dornaus
and Dixon - developed and produced the Colt Delta Elite. The 10mm Auto
was still alive. Springfield Armoury and Smith and Wesson soon made
their contributions to the renewed life of the 10mm Auto. Since then,
most of the big-name firearms makers developed and produced firearms
that chamber the 10mm Auto cartridge.
Enter Peregrine Industries, Inc., of Huntington Beach, California.
Peregrine Industries produces the Falcon, a pistol that chambers the
10mm Auto cartridge. The Falcon is dramatically similar to the original
Bren Ten.
The founder and president of the Peregrine industries is Richard Voit.
His grandfather and fater made Voit a respected name in the sporting
goods industry. As a shooting enthusiast, Rishard Voit realized the
potential of the Bren Ten and bought the rights to the firearm, hoping
to bring the gun back to life. With that in mind, Voit and Peregrine
Industries developed what they call the Falcon.
Voit wanted the Falcon to improve on the Bren. With the help of top
design engineer Steven Blair, he has achieved maximum accuracy and
reliability in the Falcon. Most visual features of the Falcon are similar
to the Bren, but there are notable changes. Voit wanted to preserve
the original look of the Bren, including the two-tone look of styling.
Other Bren trademarks were a removeable barrel bushing that resembled
a crown, a hump on the rear of the slide that housed the sight and the
unique shape of the grip.
While preserving the styling of the Bren, Voit wanted the Falcon to be
safer, straonger, and more accurate and reliable. The Falcon features
a frame-mounted, ambidextrous safety. Located just above the grip, it
is operated easily with the hammer either cocked or uncocked. Pressing
the switch upward sets the safety in the on position.
The Falcon also has a firing pin block safety inside the slide. It's a
full time firing pin locking device - it's always on until
pressure is applied to the trigger. This is an ideal feature, preventing
unwanted firing pin travel, Voit feels.
Another safety device is the slide mounted, hammer decocking lever.
It's located on the let rear of the slide, just below the sight. When
the lever is pressed down, the hammer drops to a safe, uncocked
position while the firing pin remains in a locked position.
the recoil system of the Falcon has been improved over the Bren. The
original pistol's system wsa much like that of the Colt 1911 auto. It
consisted of a recoil spring guide, recoil spring and a spring tube or
plug. The Bren also had a buffer built into the recoil spring guide
that acted as a "shock absorber." The system reduced the felt recoil
and wear on the pistol.
The Falcon's recoil system has been improved, making the complicated
Bren system unnecessary. The Falcon uses a full-length recoil spring
and guide to improve functioning and accuracy. The velocity of the
slide has been reduced and the operating characteristics of the pistol
minimize wear on the receiver and moving parts. The system helps tame
recoil for quicker recovery and longer fiream life.
Instead of using a standard style pistol barrel bushing, Peregrine
Industries has a new idea that's worked so well it's patented. It's
called the V-Block Accuracy System. A standard barrel bushing keeps
close barrel-to-slide fit, but the Falcon developers considered the
snug fit unnecessary. A V has been cut into the forward portion
of the Falcon's slide. This allos the barrel to fall consistantly into
place as the slide cycles forward into battery. The cut gives the
barrel a memory. This patented system is ideal for developing the
repeated accuracy most shooters seek. The V-Block system should
achieve superb accuracy after a few thousand rounds. Company engineers
feel it's an especially sound idea for military and law enforcement.
Voit insisted that the crown-like barrel bushing feature on the Bren
be repeated in the Falcon design. Even though the barrel bushing is not
needed, the crown is cast into the end of the slide, giving it the
classic Bren Ten look.
In addition to the V-Block Accuracy System, the barrel's Power-Seal
rifling greatly enhances the pistol's accuracy. Power-Seal rifling was
developed originally by Barret Obermeyer, considered one of the top
barrel makers in the United States. Dornaus and Dixon found this style
of rifling impressive and used it in the Bren. The Falcon also features
this unique rifling.
What makes the Power-Seal better than conventional rifling? The ninety
degree angle of the conventional rifling allows gases to escape out
the barrel, reducing muzzle velocity. Power-Seal rifling is cut into
the barrel at a much reduced angle. This increases the surface area
between the lands and grooves. The projectile has more surface to
travel on and achieve a better seal for maximum muzzle velocity and
accuracy.
Dornaus and Dixon advertised that all production Bren Tens would
produce a ten-shot group less than one-inch at twenty-five yards,
while that auto ws in production. From my own experience, I know this
to be true. The use of Power-Seal rifling in the Falcon should make it
highly accurate.
The Falcon operates on a short recoil system simliar to the 1911 Colt
auto and is exactly like the famous CZ-75. Most autoloading pistols on
the market feature a similar or duplicated system.
To enhance accuracy, Perigrine Industries developed and patented the
Tri-Square sighting system. It is a three-dot sighting system, one in
the front and two in the rear. Actually, the dots aren't dots but
small white squares. I found the old-style three-dot system easy to
use, but this new concept is even more impressive. Lining up the three
squares during recovery was fast and easy when I fired the Falcon.
The rear portion of the slide, besides housing the decocking lever,
contains and protects the rear sight assembly. This feature is another
taken from the Bren Ten. A simple design, the sight is rugged, but
provides full adjustment for windage and elevation. The front sight is
held in the slide by two well-secured posts.
One feature that wasn't borrowed from the Bren is the magazine release.
The release on the Flacon is far superior to the standard John Browning
1911-style which was featured on the Bren. The Falcon's magazine
release isn't really ambidextrous, but it's reversible. With a
standard, small-tipped screwdriver, a shooter can switch the release
for either left or right hand.
The test model I examined was a prototype with the serial numner, X
1, Peregrine Industries was reluctant to let the firearm leave the
factory, but I was able to test the Falcon's accuracy with various
loads, I did evaluate its function and feel.
As expected, the Falcon functioned and shot wonderfully. The felt
recoil resembled the kick of a Model 1076, S&W's newest 10mm Auto. The
Falcon actually may kick less than the 1076; it certainly has a more
comfortable grip. When comparing the felt recoil of the Bren Ten and
the Falcon, I feel the latter puts up less of a fight.
After shooting a couple of fully loaded ten-round magazine of 10mm Auto
ammo, I was able to try the Facon equipped with a .40 S&W chambered
barrel. Shooting the round, I found the Falcon quite easy to control.
With the combination of the Tri-Square sight system and the high-tech
recoil assembly, quick recovery in sight line-up was easy to achieve.
The ammunition used for the test was furnished by Pro Load Ammunition
of Burbank, California. The 10mm Auto and .40 S&W were 180-grain
jacketed hollow points. I've had great luck with cartridges from Pro
Load in the past. Ballistically, the Falcon - with its Power-Seal
barrel - should be capableof maximizing the best ammunition on the
market.
The Falcon will go through more extensive testing before production
models will be produced. The pistol I fired already had seen thousands
of rounds through it. In the Peregrine Industries' vault, I saw thirty
different Falcons, all in the process of being tested. Each had fired
on thousand rounds, but that's just the beginning. Each pistol will
fire fifty thousand rounds beforetesting is complete. The Peregrine
Industries' staffing will dismantle each firearm periodically during
the testing to check for major wear that might affect performance or
safety.
The basic production Falcon will have all the features mentioned here,
plus a few extras. Du pont Zytel is the material used in the Falcon's
grip. A beveled magazine well will be standard and the stainless steel
magazine will hold ten rounds of 10mm Auto or .40 S&W. Each pistol
will come in the Bren-like two-tone blued and stainless finish.
Peregrine Industries will also offer a few accessories. Hardwood grips
will be availableto dress-up the pistol. Featured on the wood grips is
a detailed laser cutting of the manufacturer's logo, a falcon. Also
offered will be a three-psitol gun case carrying the Victory name,
another Peregrine trademark. The soft case is made of ballistic nylon
with white material inside that resembles sheep skin.
The suggested retail price for the Falcon chambered in 10mm Auto or
.40 S&W will be $750, I was told. For $725, shooters will be able to
buy a Flacon chambered for the .45 ACP load, a must for die-hard .45
fans.
For more information on the Falcon or any of their other products,
write: Peregrine Industries, Inc., Dept. GW, P.O. Box 1310, Huntington
Beach, CA 92647-1310.
With the Falcon, Peregrine Industries has a seeming winner. I can't
wait to see what their research and development department offers in
the future. GW
